Retrospective To Visit Chicago, DC, Toronto, Boston, SF, Seattle And Other Major Markets

New York, New York — January 9, 2012 — GKIDS, a distributor of award winning animation for both adults and family audiences, is bringing a 20-year retrospective of films from Japan’s renowned Studio Ghibli to Los Angeles. Presented by American Cinematheque, the films will play at the Egyptian and Aero Theatres in Los Angeles from Thursday, January 26 to Sunday, February 12.

Fourteen Studio Ghibli feature films produced between 1984 and 2008 will be presented, including Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy AwardÂ® winning Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Films will be shown in either the subtitled or English dubbed versions. (See below for a complete list of titles.)

The Los Angeles run follows an enormously successful debut for the retrospective at New York’s IFC Center. The event opened at IFC on December 16, grossing $32,500 week one, $33,700 week two, and $56,700 week three. The event helped IFC set several single-day records for the complex (including biggest Monday, biggest Wednesday, and biggest Thursday) and contributed to the second busiest period since the theater opened.

GKIDS recently entered into agreement with Studio Ghibli to handle North American theatrical distribution for their library of animated features. Following the Los Angeles engagement, the retrospective will tour to major North American markets, including Chicago, Washington DC, Toronto, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and other cities, throughout 2012. GKIDS is also planning limited releases of select Studio Ghibli titles, many of which have never been released theatrically in the US, beginning late 2012.

Eric Beckman, GKIDS president, said, “I am both excited and deeply honored to be working with Studio Ghibli to bring this amazing slate of films to theaters across North America. I am in continual awe of the brilliance of the animation, the depth and humanity of the storytelling, and of the filmmakers’ understanding that even the youngest audiences are capable of appreciating all the subtlety and nuance that cinema has to offer. The response from audiences in New York was absolutely phenomenal and we look forward to sharing these wonderful films with Los Angeles area movie-goers.”